Indian caste councils accused of encouraging the 'honour killing' of eloping
young couples have praised families who murder their daughters as 'peace
loving' and 'law abiding.'

In a submission to India's Supreme Court, leaders of caste councils made a plea for greater understanding of those who kill their children for 'honour' but denied encouraging them.

Their submission came amid widespread anger in India over high levels of violence against women following the gang-rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus as she travelled home from the cinema with a friend.

According to campaigners there are up to 10,000 'honour killings' in India every year. Most of the victims are young women killed by their fathers and brothers over 'forbidden' relationships or for insisting on marrying a man they love.

Many of those killed were in India's northern states where councils have issued stern warnings against men and women from the same sub-caste marrying each other. Caste elders regard the practice as akin to incest even though the individuals are not related.

Caste leaders have now made a submission to the Supreme Court spelling out demands for new marriage laws banning those in the same sub-castes from marrying one another.

Om Prakash Dhankar, leader of the Sarva Khap Panchayat, which represents 67 groups in Haryana state, said those who killed for honour are good people who care about their reputation.

"The honour killings are carried out by law abiding, educated and respectable people, who fear the society and always try to guard their reputation. They always care about their esteem and public image and do not want any harm to their public standing," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"We have many cases of honour killings, where the families were peace loving and law abiding and were liberal towards their children. They later on went to kill their children to save their honour in the society."

Those who break long-standing customs by marrying within their sub-caste risked creating deformed children, he claimed.

He denied caste councils are discriminatory but defended a series of warnings to young women against talking to young men or using mobile phones, which has contributed to an increase in sexual assaults, he said.

"Our suggestions to women not to use mobile phones, [wear]tight clothing or mingle with the opposite sex is based on ground realities. We are not anti-women and have no intention to curb their freedom but we have seen girls and boys taking to each other at odd times and fixing dates on mobiles, which in many cases have led to rapes We believe that individuals from opposite genders should not mingle too much, if they do, its like sprinkling petrol on fire," he said.